The flood of relief
supplies that arrive in the aftermath of large-scale
disasters often poses serious logistic and management
problems for national authorities. SUMA is a tool
for the management of humanitarian relief supplies,
from the time pledges are made by donors, to their
entry into the disaster area and their storage and
distribution.

Can produce reports
and keep disaster managers and humanitarian organizations,
as well as donors, the media and the beneficiaries
informed of exactly what has been received; quickly
identifies and classifies all the humanitarian relief
aid and assigns priority to the supplies according
to the needs of the by the disaster affected population;
offers a tool for inventory control on warehousing
and for the monitoring of the distribution
of emergency supplies from the central warehouses
or distribution centers up to local level. SUMA
began as a PAHO/WHO technical cooperation project
in Latin America and the Caribbean in 1992. The
objective of SUMA is to build and strengthen a capacity
in the countries to deal effectively with information
on incoming relief supplies. Some 3000 volunteers
in more than 30 countries in the Americas and in
other regions of the world have received training,
since the beginning of the project. SUMA has been
implemented in a variety of both natural and complex
emergencies.

Information on
supplies is collected at different points of entry
such as an airport, seaport, or border. The SUMA
team assigns a priority to each item based on how
it meets the needs of the disaster victims. Items
are classified by category, subcategory, and item.
Other SUMA teams work at warehouses and distribution
centers, managing information on the distribution
of items from central to peripheral points. Information
gathered in the field is forwarded in an electronic
format to the central level, where the emergency
is being managed, for it's consolidation. Standard
or customized reports can be easily generated for
disaster managers, assisting them to monitor pledges
from donors, identify gaps or duplications in the
distribution, as well as helping them to take logistical decisions.

A main objective
of the SUMA project has been to develop self-reliance
in countries, ensuring that they can manage humanitarian
assistance with their own resources. National SUMA
teams are made up of volunteers from the ranks of
national health or relief agencies, the Civil Defense
or armed forces, Ministries of Foreign Affairs,
Customs Departments, Red Cross, NGOs, and other
organizations. In the immediate aftermath of large-scale
disasters, especially in smaller countries, it may
be unrealistic to count on local trained health
professionals to sort through incoming medical supplies.
Other life-saving priorities will prevail! This
is the time when assistance among neighbors is brought
into play. PAHO/WHO together with it's executive
branch the NGO FUNDESUMA, provide logistical and
technical support in mobilizing SUMA teams from
nearby countries. SUMA teams are self-sufficient
and have received specialized training which includes:

Sorting/identification
of supplies

Software operation

Use of the
SUMA priority labelling system

Operational
aspects of relief assistance (radio and satellite
communications, use of generators, etc.)

The SUMA team members
assist affected countries in large-scale international
disasters.

Without the full
support of national authorities, inter-institutional
assistance, and the enthusiasm of those trained
in SUMA, the project would not have succeeded. SUMA
is now the accepted standard in Latin America and
the Caribbean for relief supply management, and
is being increasingly requested for disaster management
outside the Region of the Americas. Experienced
SUMA team members provide training locally, in neighboring
countries, and are being called on to train potential
SUMA teams outside of this Region. One of the most
important features of SUMA is its flexibility. It
can be used in many different emergency situations,
large or small scale, and in natural as well as
complex emergency situations. The development and
modification of the software has depended on constant
feedback from national team members who have used
it in a variety of disaster situations and training
sessions. Some related document to this subject:

The SUMA software
is copyrighted by the Pan American Health Organization,
but distributed free of charge in English, Spanish,
French and Portuguese. For information on technical
requirements or to obtain the software and training
manuals, please contact: